Planning Board to revisit solar restrictions at hearing

Voters recently delayed action on a proposal to confine all future large-scale solar to a designated area. The Planning Board will revisit the plan at a public hearing on March 10.

At the Jan. 13 Special Town Meeting, voters determined that the Planning Board's proposal, which aimed to restrict solar development in town, required “further study."

If the proposal had been approved, large-scale ground-mounted solar arrays — commonly known as solar farms — would have been restricted to the existing business development overlay district, which spans about 1,300 acres north of Interstate 495.

The Planning Board will gather public input on the proposed “solar zoning district” at the upcoming hearing, with Chair Carl Schulz hoping it will also serve as an opportunity to "better explain" the plan.

At the Special Town Meeting voters raised concerns that the district would encourage more solar development and reduce permitting restrictions. 

“I think the point that we want to get across is that this isn’t creating new rights for anybody," Schulz said. “It is trying to restrict development.”

Schulz explained that while Wareham can’t outright ban solar farms, due to pressure from the state, the town can restrict development with the proposed district.

“I don’t think we can tell the state we don’t want anymore [solar], that just isn’t going to fly,” Schulz said. “But we can say we are allowing solar and we’re going to focus it in this district.”

Schulz said more information on the zoning bylaw and potential tweaks to the way it's written will be shared at the board's Feb. 10 meeting.